Community Level Factors Associated with Alcohol Use Among Persons Aged 18-35 Years in Kangundo North Ward, Machakos County, Kenya

Alcohol use among persons aged 18-35 years is an important Public Health issue.Alcohol abuse results in significant health, social and economic burden. It slows the progress towards the attainment of Kenya vision 2030 that envisages a healthy population free from the effects of alcohol use in order to attain the highest level of physical, social and mental health. Globally, despite this increase of alcohol use, there is limited data on the factors associated with alcohol use among persons aged 18-35 years in Kenya. This study aimed to determine the community factors associated with alcohol use among persons aged 18-35 years. This was a cross sectional study among 310 persons in Kangundo North ward. Probability Proportionate to size sampling method was used to select the study sample and a structured questionnaire used to collect data. Descriptive and inferential statisticsthat included univariate and multivariate logistic regression was used to analyze the data using STATA version 14.Ethical clearance was granted by Baraton University ethics board and NACOSTI. The study found significant association between advertisements, alcohol regulation and alcohol use. It concluded that Advertisement of alcohol contributes to alcohol use. (newspaper and radio were 0.11 and 0.263 times more likely to influence alcohol use). There is a significant association between administrative regulation of alcohol and alcohol use(P<0.05).The study recommends targeted messaging on alcohol in advertisements and strict regulation of alcohol outlets The study findings will help the Machakos County government to design targeted interventions to address alcohol use.